Search found 29 matches

by Fstop
Sat Feb 08, 2020 12:04 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: The Job Search is Not Going Well...
Replies: 13
Views: 28418

Re: The Job Search is Not Going Well...

Do you have IB experience? If not, then you're not going to get many (if any) offers, I'm afraid. Thailand is a highly competitive country. I also teach English. A few years ago, when I left my international teaching post in Phuket, my principal said that there were hundreds of applications for my position. My advice is to try elsewhere.
by Fstop
Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:50 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: How hard is it for an American to teach in Australia?
Replies: 8
Views: 15635

Re: How hard is it for an American to teach in Australia?

Hard but not impossible. I looked into it a few years ago. Got my teaching cert. recognized (which took 3 months and a load of expense) but went no further. It's very expensive to even apply for the visa, and you need to make sure you have enough points and that your job is on the needed list.
by Fstop
Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:21 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Feeling like I want to move my family back home
Replies: 29
Views: 30128

Re: Feeling like I want to move my family back home

^California definitely has something similar. Salary scale pages usually have a note at the bottom about crediting years of experience, and yes, it needs to be from an accredited school in order to count. Not sure about the forms; I figured if I just got letters of rec from the school before I left then that would be good enough. Best to contact the district to see what they need.
by Fstop
Mon Apr 22, 2019 12:44 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Feeling like I want to move my family back home
Replies: 29
Views: 30128

Re: Feeling like I want to move my family back home

To the OP: I'm in a very similar situation. I have been teaching internationally for 15 years (English Literature), 10 in IB. I now have a wife and 2 young children and have been feeling to pull to go back to the US. I'm originally from Sacramento, California, so would probably return there or close to there. I have had a look at pay scales and many districts will give up to 12 years of credit, and with a Master's, the salary looks to be okay. I have also looked at private schools, prep schools and international schools, but these seem to be difficult to get into. If you are teaching in an affluent area then classroom management isn't too bad - I did my student teaching in an affluent school and was mostly fine. I was also a cover teacher for a few years and saw the good and the bad. Management is definitely not the same as in international schools.

I'm also in Thailand but have worked all over, including Europe. My wife is Thai, which limits her employment prospects, at least until she gets an associate's degree.

Housing prices are not what they were a few years ago, but again it completely depends on where you live. Every so often I go and look at housing prices in areas where I'd like to work just to see what's available.

Health insurance is a big worry - I thought that school districts paid for part of it, and the teacher pays for part of it - am I wrong here?

I do worry about moving back and being broke. We figure if we save around $100k, that should be enough to start us up, so we have made a 4 year plan to do this.

The reasons for the move? Retirement pension and being close to family are two big ones. I also just love California. I grew up there and I want my kids to grow up there. It's a nice place to live. University possibilities are also much better than if we stayed in Thailand.

The cons? I do worry about school shootings. And like I mentioned, we both fear going broke the first year. But we are adamant that this is the best way forward for all of us in the end.
by Fstop
Mon Jan 29, 2018 1:24 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Exodus from Germany
Replies: 41
Views: 45173

Re: Exodus from Germany

My school in Germany did not give any relocation allowance (although they did offer some shipping). Deposits and furnishing are not tax deductible, I'm afraid (I tried). Shipping costs are, however. Most teachers I know who came in spent around 8-10k on housing deposits, furnishings, etc.
by Fstop
Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:06 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Exodus from Germany
Replies: 41
Views: 45173

Re: Exodus from Germany

2-3 months rent is normal here. Also, when you move into a place, it's usually completely unfurnished (they even take the lightbulbs out). Sometimes the kitchen is furnished, but not always.
by Fstop
Fri Jan 19, 2018 12:10 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Exodus from Germany
Replies: 41
Views: 45173

Re: Exodus from Germany

I currently live and teach in Germany but we are leaving after this academic year. The reason? It's very very expensive here! Housing is not a benefit that most schools give so nearly half my salary is taken up for rent. If you are single with no dependents or a teaching couple then you should have no problem living here and saving a bit but if you have one or more dependents it's quite difficult. The weather does make things depressing, but it's mostly financial reasons that we are leaving.

However, there are also very good things about living in Germany:

-Job security (most schools give tenure after 2 years)
-Fresh air
-Great infrastructure
-Cheap (and very good!) wine, beer and cheese (especially compared to Asia)
-Public transit that is very efficient
-Daycare is free
-The government actually pays you to have kids (around 200 Euros per month for each child)
-Excellent travel opportunities
-Beautiful public parks and playgrounds
-It's very safe


So come to Germany....if you can afford it.
by Fstop
Sat Mar 12, 2016 9:58 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Teaching in Maldives
Replies: 6
Views: 10773

Re: Teaching in Maldives

I'd be careful about taking a position in a holiday location (Maldives, Seychelles, Phuket, Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman, etc.). The schools at these places tend to have an "island culture" that creates laziness and unmotivated students, as well as parents who are retirees and millionaires on permanent holiday.
by Fstop
Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:10 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Shipping Personal Items from China to Thailand. Suggestions?
Replies: 4
Views: 7162

Re: Shipping Personal Items from China to Thailand. Suggesti

When we moved to Thailand from China we just shipped everything via the post office. China has some insanely stupid rules regarding shipping. We could only ship 2 boxes every 2 weeks, and no electronics. But it was very cheap.

A colleague of mine used FedEx. More expensive but they come to your house and box everything up.
by Fstop
Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:49 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: List of Schools for TS and Dependents
Replies: 20
Views: 23544

Re: List of Schools for TS and Dependents

There is no list. It completely depends on the needs of the school and how much they want you. There are schools that will not hire people with dependents (ISHMC, NIST) but they usually put this on their Search profile.
by Fstop
Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:32 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Search – Bangkok Dates: Jan 8 - 11
Replies: 8
Views: 12813

Re: Search – Bangkok Dates: Jan 8 - 11

tdaley26 wrote:
> Why would you have a skype interview if you are at the fair?


Not all the administrators are at the fair. Usually it's the head of school and perhaps one more, especially if there is a lot of travel involved to get to the fair. So a second interview might be with the program principal or the department head who has not traveled to the fair.
by Fstop
Mon Jan 18, 2016 8:34 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Search – Bangkok Dates: Jan 8 - 11
Replies: 8
Views: 12813

Re: Search – Bangkok Dates: Jan 8 - 11

It's been a week or so, but I'll share some of my experience. Although this is a "rockstar" fair, it surprised me how many people there did not have IB experience. There were plenty of teaching couples and other teachers with trailing spouses and dependents. As for myself, I teach in a non-competitive field (English) and have a trailing spouse and a dependent child. I have 6 years of IB experience. I went into the fair not expecting to get much attention, but I was wrong. Before the fair even started, I had emails and notes in my box from top tier schools. I went to 4 interviews before the signup, and I was able to snag 1 more during the signup.

My feeling is that the signup is mostly for people who are not very competitive - most of the schools do their interviewing and hiring before the signup. I spoke to about 10 schools during the signup but only got one interview because of my dependents. But it proved not to be the kiss of death. Myself, as well as 3 of my colleagues (who all have dependents as well) wound up getting hired at good schools. I won't name the school or the country to protect my anonymity but I'm very happy with the way things turned out.

A few observations:

Nido de Aguiles International School of Chile was by far the most popular - at signup there were at least 30 people in line, and it did not die down until the very end.

Schools like it when you go to their presentations. If they ask you to interview before the fair, it seems that they kind of expect you to go to their presentation.

If you have a Skype interview and you are not staying at the hotel there really are not many places to go where there is quiet. I opted for a corner near the suit shops by the ATM; there were a few others in small corners.
by Fstop
Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:55 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Search BKK in January: Am I qualified or wasting my time?
Replies: 13
Views: 22314

Re: Search BKK in January: Am I qualified or wasting my time

You'll get something. How many students at your 3rd-tier school?

I'm also English A. I've got 5 years of IB experience (12 overall) + 3 years as an examiner for Lang & Lit. But I've got a trailing spouse and a non-school aged child. I still got invited to the BKK fair but I'm not optimistic about my chances of getting hired. However 3 years ago I went (at that time I only had the trailing spouse) and still got hired by a tier 2 at the fair, so you never know.
by Fstop
Wed Jul 10, 2013 6:26 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Issues and solutions of IT's with non-teaching dependants.
Replies: 7
Views: 9214

[quote="Yantantether"]Fstop: Could you expand on why and how you mentioned her in the cover letter? Was this for jobs specific to Thailand and did it change anything or provide any pluses? Cheers.
[/quote]

I think it was someone on here who recommended mentioning your non-teaching spouse in the cover letter. I mentioned her so I could answer some questions before they were even asked, like "what will she do while you are at work?" and such. I did this for every cover letter I dropped in the boxes at the fair. I don't know if it helped or not, but I was hired at the Bangkok fair.

Like PsyGuy said, IB is everything. I have a few years of IB under my belt and my students' scores are very good. I believe this is what helped the most. If you have kids and a trailing spouse, then you better have at least 5-6 years of IB experience. I met a guy at BKK who was hired at a top tier school in Kenya after teaching for 6 years in Shanghai. He has kids and a non-teaching spouse. So it is possible, but if you are just starting out in IB and have a non-teaching partner and a few kids, then you will find getting into a good school difficult.
by Fstop
Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:24 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Issues and solutions of IT's with non-teaching dependants.
Replies: 7
Views: 9214

^Kind of agree. I also have a non-teaching spouse. She's from Thailand. When I was applying for jobs earlier this year, I mentioned her in the cover letter I sent out, but I would never think of negotiating for less benefits because she isn't a teacher, and no reputable school would agree to such terms.